U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,017 to Ficken et al. discloses an apparatus for dispensing containers from a stack of nested containers. The Ficken et al. device dispenses the lowermost cup from a stack of nested cups and is adjustable to accommodate a range of under-rim cup diameters. However, the range of accommodation provided by the Ficken et al. device is somewhat limited, at least to the extent that two embodiments are required to accommodate under-rim diameters ranging in size from 1.9375 to 3.6875 inches. Accordingly, the need remains for a single cup dispenser that can accommodate essentially the entire range of cup diameters used in the vending industry.
An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved cup dispenser for vending machines and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cup dispenser that can accommodate essentially the entire range of under-rim cup diameters encountered in the vending industry.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cup dispenser that is also cost effective to manufacture and maintain.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cup dispenser that is also reliable and durable in use.
These objectives and others will become apparent upon a more detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.